As the modern workplace becomes increasingly cloud-focused and digital, the conventional network boundary is blurring. Cyber threats are constantly developing to take advantage of new vulnerabilities that are discovered on a regular basis. At the World Cyber Security Forum (WCSF), Megha R. Ahuja, Program Head-Department of Cyber Affairs, assists clients by monitoring the network and continually analysing and evaluating security data to detect cyber-attacks and data breaches.
Threat monitoring systems from WCSF gather and correlate data from network sensors, appliances, endpoint agents, and other security technologies in order to discover trends that signal a possible threat or security issue. An alert is sent to the security team for mitigation or incident response when a threat is discovered.
According to Megha, the monitoring process indeed helps lower the risk of insider threats while increasing data protection capabilities. The teams check the flows and all the packet payloads for suspicious contents. Some tools which also monitor the security threats in the client’s network are mostly used by IT professionals who have technical knowledge. Like: Argus, Splunk, OSSEC etc.
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between the World’s Leaders and Megha R. Ahuja.
How do your background and experience align with the role at WCSF?
My role at the World Cyber Security Forum enables me to collaborate with clients who are usually victims of cybercrime. As the Program Head, I have gone to the extent of retrieving the cyber safety of our customers, as I have strong expertise in cyber laws and have represented clients in various suits. So, client relationships, understanding customer and organisational needs, and representing them to solve intricate cyber/legal issues, have always been the foundation of my current position.
How would you describe your management style and philosophy?
Management, in my opinion, should provide guidance, direction, leadership, and, finally, set an example for subordinates. As a result, my management philosophy is to create an environment that fosters productive employees, and I’ve known a couple of managers in the past who worked smart and efficiently, so I, too, believe in a democratic management style that entails collaborating closely with team members to develop strategies and make decisions together.
What are WCSF’s cyber security solutions for hardware and software? How efficient is your organisation from an operational standpoint?
Our services include techno-legal consultancy as we deal exclusively in cyber and its related laws, as well as providing external legal assistance under this umbrella. Our efficient team of counsellors & psychologists supports people who are victims of cyber-harassment or identity theft in order to make them regain their mental state. We provide personalised cybersecurity training to corporate employees to ensure reliability, integrity, and confidentiality of company data to detect & prevent security breaches.
The World Cyber Security Forum is an efficient organisation not because our cybersecurity professionals offer flexible training but are also being trained in a timely manner. Since operationally efficient organisations are characterised by a purposeful approach to communication and meetings, we put people first for operational effectiveness.
What are the three things you would like to improve in the organization?
Servicing more accurately and diligently in more regions. We aim to empower more women by increasing training sessions for skill development in order to build a cyber-centric army. Customer satisfaction and employee job satisfaction are two sides of the same coin that must be balanced on a regular basis as we retain customers and train our employees.
According to you, what is the most significant barrier for female leaders in the tech sector?
Women are still in the minority in many workplaces, especially in the STEM sector. Although you see many women entering the echelons of male-dominated organisations at the lower levels, as they move on to higher levels, the males have an undue advantage over the women.
You can see the number of women employees when the career path is depicted akin to a pyramid for the female gender. When it comes to barriers, women are always attributed with stereotypes about the nature of work, even if they are placed in a technological world.
Since the majority of bosses and super-bosses are men, women are not favoured or preferred over men due to certain assumed physical limitations of married women, such as their inability to travel on official duties or stay back for prolonged hours. However, married and unmarried women have proven all of these myths imprinted on the minds of the male bastion to be false, and women should seize every opportunity to break the yokes imposed on them by previous generations. So, it should be told to the girls and women, and so it shall be done.
What is the greatest risk you’ve taken as a professional?
We have come a long way in the last few years, and the primary or most significant risk was forming this organisation and convincing people to trust us, because when any organisation starts, it takes time to settle and produce some excellent results in their field.
Organizing various awareness and cyber-centric events and campaigns to reduce the impact of cybercrime and offences is something we have been doing consistently. Convincing people to join us and support us in this cause was another important task because it was difficult to justify the need immediately. But we are fortunate to have the unwavering support of society. The constant feedback keeps us inspired and motivated to continue growing and bringing freshly brewed content and training programs.
Does your organization’s corporate responsibility strategy match the availability of your current resources?
Of course, our strategy identifies barriers to achieving company objectives and develops an approach that allows us to overcome the obstacles. The current resources are available for us to strive to create value, develop a unique marketing advantage, and reputation, which is why coordination and reiteration of the forum goals, organisational practises are critical.
Where do you see your company in the next five years?
In the next five years, technology will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the changing competitive landscape in cybersecurity. If the half-life of a learned skill is five years in today’s era, this means half of what your employees learned five years ago is likely irrelevant. Our goal is to prepare WCSF’s workforce and keep our business competitive over the next five years. Every year, new skills emerge as a result of disruptive technologies or business models such as Bitcoin/Blockchain (cryptocurrency online payments), Neural networks (artificial intelligence), and Drop Shipping (inventory-free e-commerce), and with the fluidity of skills coming and going, we may be moving toward a “role-less” future of work. Career paths will be defined by constant reskilling and movement into new types of roles—rather than job-hopping to new companies, employees will constantly “role-hop” within their company; we wish to make the World Cyber Security Forum an inclusive hub for all technical, legal, and techno-managerial roles.
We want to encourage continuous learning and help our employees evolve and adapt in this new era of change, and we want WCSF to be the centre that holds the key to whether the cyber-safety of companies and employees will thrive.
What is some of the advice you share with young women entering a male-dominated tech field or any profession?
It is an era of rising women in every sphere of the profession. Be it driving auto-rickshaws or trucks, small or big vehicles on the road, women have challenged themselves in male-dominated jobs. The advice for the women who will enter any male-dominated industry, or for the ones who are already there, will be to “do not be cowed down by any domination by your male colleagues or intimidation tactics to quit.” Women should understand that all are equal, and they are capable of being performers par excellence.
